One of the most important factors in improving the quality of cigarette is to prevent shredded tobacco from dropping from the cut end of cigarette. Therefore, the filling density at the cut end portion of cigarette is increased as compared with that at other portions, whereby the shredded tobacco is prevented from dropping from the cut end. More specifically, although a cigarette is produced by cutting a tobacco rod as publicly known, the tobacco rod has, at fixed intervals, high-density portions in which the filling density of shredded tobacco is increased. The tobacco rod is cut at the high-density portions to obtain cigarettes or double cigarettes. The double cigarette having a length twice as long as that of cigarette which has a high-density portion remained at the center thereof.
However, even if the tobacco rod is cut at the high-density portions, shredded tobacco sometimes drops from the cut end of cigarette or double cigarette. Also, when the double cigarette is cut into two cigarettes to produce a filter cigarette from the double cigarette, shredded tobacco sometimes drops from the cut end of cigarette in the subsequent transportation process thereof.
Further, not only at the time of manufacture of cigarettes or filter cigarettes as described above, but also in the subsequent distribution process, shredded tobacco sometimes drops from the cut end of cigarette or filter cigarette.
Nowadays, a cigarette manufacturing machine for manufacturing a tobacco rod has a tendency toward higher speed, so that a slip between the paper and the stream of shredded tobacco increases. Such an increase in slip causes variations in formation and pitch of high-density portions in tobacco rod, and also causes the shredded tobacco to be broken. As a result, the filling density and holding force of shredded tobacco at the cut end of cigarette or double cigarette are decreased.